Gleanings — §481

Arabic source with Shoghi Effendi’s authorized English translation. Paragraph 481 of 729.

Source (Arabic)

بعضهم ولن يكنز بعضهم وإنّ هذا لعدل مبين، ولا تجعل الأعزّة تحت أيدي الأذلّة ولا تسلّط الأدنى على الأعلى كما شهدنا في المدينة وكنّا من الشّاهدين، وإنّا لمّا وردنا المدينة وجدنا بعضهم في سعة وغناء عظيم وبعضهم في ذلّة وفقر مبين، وهذا لا ينبغي لسلطنتك

Shoghi Effendi Translation

Allow not the abject to rule over and dominate them who are noble and worthy of honor, and suffer not the high-minded to be at the mercy of the contemptible and worthless, for this is what We observed upon Our arrival in the City (Constantinople), and to it We bear witness. We found among its inhabitants some who were possessed of an affluent fortune and lived in the midst of excessive riches, while others were in dire want and abject poverty. This ill beseemeth thy sovereignty, and is unworthy of thy rank.

Translation Notes

بعضهم

b-ʿ-ḍ → “some”

literal: part; some; portion

ولن

l-n

literal: will not (negation of future)

يكنز

k-n-z

literal: treasure; treasures; hoard

وإنّ

ʾ-n-n → “for” Distinctive

literal: that; those; he; she; it

هذا

h-dh-ʾ → “this”

literal: this; that

لعدل

ʿ-d-l

literal: justice; equity

مبين،

b-y-n → “among” Distinctive

literal: manifest; evident; apparent; clear

ولا

w-l-y → “Lord” Distinctive

literal: no; not; negation particle

تجعل

j-ʿ-l

literal: to make; to cause; to render; to appoint

الأعزّة

ʿ-z-z → “noble and worthy of honor” Distinctive

literal: glory; might; honor; dignity; power; majesty

تحت

t-ḥ-t → “at the mercy”

literal: under; under, beneath; beneath

أيدي

y-d-y

literal: hand; power; action; possession

الأذلّة

dh-l-l → “abasement” Distinctive

literal: abasement; humiliation; lowliness; to be abased

تسلّط

s-l-ṭ → “sovereignty” Distinctive

literal: dominion; authority; power; sovereignty; control

الأدنى

d-n-w → “world” Distinctive

literal: lowest; base; mean; of little account

الأعلى

ʿ-l-w → “high-minded to” Distinctive

literal: highest; most high; supreme

كما

k-m → “loss” Distinctive

literal: as; like; how much; lane; street; quarter; abode

شهدنا

sh-h-d

literal: witnessed; observed; seen; evident; manifest

في

f-y → “in”

literal: in; in-it; in it

المدينة

m-d-n → “in the City”

literal: city; town

وكنّا

k-w-n

literal: to be; existence

من

m-n → “of”

literal: from; out of; than (preposition and particle)

وإنّا

ʾ-n → “to”

literal: that; those; he; she; it

لمّا

l-m-ʾ → “When”

literal: what; which; that which; relative pronoun; interrogative

وردنا

w-r-d → “upon Our arrival”

literal: to enter, to come, to befall, to arrive

وجدنا

w-j-d → “We found”

literal: to find; to discover; to obtain

سعة

s-ʿ-w → “Hour” Distinctive

literal: hour; moment; instant

وغناء

gh-n-y → “wealth”

literal: to be independent of; to be in no need of; to dispense with; rich; wealthy; needless

عظيم

ʿ-ẓ-m → “Most Great”

literal: greatest; supreme; mightiest

وفقر

f-q-r

literal: poor; needy; the poor one; pauper

لا

l-ʾ → “or”

literal: no; not; negation particle

ينبغي

n-b-gh → “beseemeth”

literal: it is proper; it is fitting; it is necessary; it behooves

Model Translations by Shoghi Effendi

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50 ¶

Kitáb-i-’Ahd

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The Book of the Covenant — Bahá’u’lláh’s Will and Testament, written entirely in His own hand and unsealed on the ninth day after His ascension. It designates ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His successor and establishes what Shoghi Effendi called the mightiest Covenant in all religious history.

16 ¶

Kitáb-i-Íqán

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The principal doctrinal work of the Faith, revealed in Baghdad within the space of two days and two nights in response to questions from the Báb’s maternal uncle. Shoghi Effendi described it as occupying a position unequalled by any work except the Kitáb-i-Aqdas — a model of Persian prose, at once original, chaste, vigorous, and remarkably lucid.

291 ¶

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Published in 1938, this companion volume to Gleanings contains 184 prayers and meditations selected by Shoghi Effendi from Bahá’u’lláh’s devotional writings revealed across successive exiles from Baghdad to ‘Akká. Shoghi Effendi described it as a volume whose perusal would deepen the spirit of devotion and faith.

858 ¶

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Revealed in Adrianople and addressed to a believer named Aḥmad, this Tablet has been invested by Bahá’u’lláh with a special potency and significance. Its central imagery draws on the metaphor of fire and water: “Be thou as a flame of fire to My enemies and a river of life eternal to My loved ones.”

17 ¶

Tablet of Carmel

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Revealed during a visit to Mount Carmel, this Tablet addresses the mountain directly and prophesies its future as the world spiritual and administrative center of the Faith. Shoghi Effendi designated it one of three foundational Charters. Its imagery of the Ark and the dwellers therein prefigures the Universal House of Justice.

5 ¶

Tablet of the Holy Mariner

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Chanted aloud in the outskirts of Baghdad just weeks before the Declaration in the Garden of Riḍván, its gloomy prognostications aroused the grave apprehensions of all who heard it. Only the Arabic portion has an authorized translation; the Persian portion remains untranslated.

57 ¶

The Hidden Words

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Seventy-one Arabic and eighty-two Persian aphorisms revealed around 1858 while walking along the banks of the Tigris in Baghdad. Originally designated the “Hidden Book of Fáṭimih,” Shoghi Effendi described it as a marvelous collection of gem-like utterances occupying a position of unsurpassed preeminence among the ethical writings of the Faith.

160 ¶

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‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Written by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in three parts between 1901 and 1908, opened and read after His passing on 28 November 1921. Shoghi Effendi designated it the Charter of the New World Order — the mightiest instrument forged to ensure the continuity of the three ages of the Bahá’í Dispensation.

59 ¶